Ah, so here we begin the end phase of Brookie. [spoiler] Interesting little piece of foreshadowing for the ending scene to the series, with Marty Murray's remark to Jimmy about "It's like the kids say, game over.". Only thing is, I seriously doubt if anyone would ever have remembered that he said it, and understood this to be the reason why Jimmy painted Game Over on the boarded up houses in the final scene. It's interesting to re-watch these last episodes. Here and there, they recapture a little of the old Brookside magic. The slower paced, tighter focus upon a smaller core of characters definitely works better. But with the episodes condensed into one long marathon, aired in a 90 minute slot with adverts, they may be boring to anyone other than the dedicated fan who understands the backstories. But Phil Redmond did say that the ending was specially written as a thank you to the dedicated viewers, so I guess there was a deliberate effort to alienate and disregard those who had not supported it over the years. There's some interesting stuff in these episodes, but I feel that the preachiness goes way too heavy. And their longtime obsession with stories involving drugs had become ridiculously overkill by now. I mean, this entire thing is purely about drugs. There's nothing else going on, whatsoever. All in all, the final installments are hit and miss. Without Jimmy Corkhill, the end to the series would have been a disaster. It's the only real focal point of any worth or interest. It's very fortunate that Dean Sullivan was still a part of the show, otherwise there would have been absolutely zero degree of satisfaction in the way it ended. Whilst I think that its treatment by Channel 4 was appalling, I do believe that its cancelation was justified. It's very evident how tired it had become. A part of me is glad that it wasn't dragged on for years further, as it would have been a real shame for its declined quality to outweigh the many years when it was absolute gold.
Very well said and I completely agree. The show ending when it did has left people with much happier memories than will be the case when the other soaps eventually end.
@@maxinepike4876 I think I'd rather it be left alone. In an ideal world, If they could bring it back and really recapture what it was at its peak then I'd absolutely welcome it. But in reality, it just would not be anything like that. I know that it would end up being all that ridiculous gangster and guns stuff, rather than the real meaty, complex, challenging stories it was so brilliant at before all of that crept in. My vision of how it would be is captured perfectly in Brookside Unfinished Business, which released on DVD some time after the show ended on Channel 4. It was truly awful, you wouldn't take a copy if they were giving it out for free.
I think you are maybe looking into it too much. It was a soap and I enjoyed watching it, at its peak and beyond. No offence meant at all, but there are a lot worse last a lot longer
@@crafte164 Definitely agree that there are worse shows that reach lower points than Brookside did, yet are given more chance. I think Brookside was dealt rough justice by Channel 4. It deserved a real opportunity at recovery, one big year of being heavily backed and pushed by the station. The way it unceremoniously ended, dumped in a late night graveyard slot with no fanfare or recognition of its achievements, was a very bitter ending for something which had once been the most valuable show on Channel 4.
Jimmy was likable character in the later years of Brookside 95-2003. Early 90s he was an asshole, glad they changed him.
Ah, so here we begin the end phase of Brookie. [spoiler] Interesting little piece of foreshadowing for the ending scene to the series, with Marty Murray's remark to Jimmy about "It's like the kids say, game over.". Only thing is, I seriously doubt if anyone would ever have remembered that he said it, and understood this to be the reason why Jimmy painted Game Over on the boarded up houses in the final scene. It's interesting to re-watch these last episodes. Here and there, they recapture a little of the old Brookside magic. The slower paced, tighter focus upon a smaller core of characters definitely works better. But with the episodes condensed into one long marathon, aired in a 90 minute slot with adverts, they may be boring to anyone other than the dedicated fan who understands the backstories. But Phil Redmond did say that the ending was specially written as a thank you to the dedicated viewers, so I guess there was a deliberate effort to alienate and disregard those who had not supported it over the years. There's some interesting stuff in these episodes, but I feel that the preachiness goes way too heavy. And their longtime obsession with stories involving drugs had become ridiculously overkill by now. I mean, this entire thing is purely about drugs. There's nothing else going on, whatsoever. All in all, the final installments are hit and miss. Without Jimmy Corkhill, the end to the series would have been a disaster. It's the only real focal point of any worth or interest. It's very fortunate that Dean Sullivan was still a part of the show, otherwise there would have been absolutely zero degree of satisfaction in the way it ended. Whilst I think that its treatment by Channel 4 was appalling, I do believe that its cancelation was justified. It's very evident how tired it had become. A part of me is glad that it wasn't dragged on for years further, as it would have been a real shame for its declined quality to outweigh the many years when it was absolute gold.
Very well said and I completely agree. The show ending when it did has left people with much happier memories than will be the case when the other soaps eventually end.
Think the should bring it back now xo
@@maxinepike4876 I think I'd rather it be left alone. In an ideal world, If they could bring it back and really recapture what it was at its peak then I'd absolutely welcome it. But in reality, it just would not be anything like that. I know that it would end up being all that ridiculous gangster and guns stuff, rather than the real meaty, complex, challenging stories it was so brilliant at before all of that crept in. My vision of how it would be is captured perfectly in Brookside Unfinished Business, which released on DVD some time after the show ended on Channel 4. It was truly awful, you wouldn't take a copy if they were giving it out for free.
I think you are maybe looking into it too much. It was a soap and I enjoyed watching it, at its peak and beyond. No offence meant at all, but there are a lot worse last a lot longer
@@crafte164 Definitely agree that there are worse shows that reach lower points than Brookside did, yet are given more chance. I think Brookside was dealt rough justice by Channel 4. It deserved a real opportunity at recovery, one big year of being heavily backed and pushed by the station. The way it unceremoniously ended, dumped in a late night graveyard slot with no fanfare or recognition of its achievements, was a very bitter ending for something which had once been the most valuable show on Channel 4.
Risking/Smoking/Crushing (21st October 2003)
And now the end Is near 😢😢
Oohhhh bad language lol